From Start to Finish: How to Get Your Freelance Career Off the Ground

What does the American Dream mean to you? For some it means living debt-free or owning a home. For others it means having the ability to travel the globe or the opportunity to spend time volunteering for an important cause. Self-employment is an increasingly popular way for many to achieve their version of the American Dream, as it provides a more flexible lifestyle than a traditional nine-to-five job. Freelancing is a popular first step into self-employment.

People that use their skills and expertise to provide a product or service directly to a business are called freelancers. Writers, photographers, web designers, app developers, and a long list of other professionals commonly work as freelancers. They find clients, negotiate a per-hour or per-project rate, and get started. Most freelancers need nothing more than a computer and an internet connection. They enjoy the flexibility of working without a traditional ‘boss’ and during the hours they choose.

We have put together some practical tips to help you get started in the world of freelancing. As a freelancer, you will enjoy the flexibility and creative freedom that a nine-to-five job cannot always provide. However, you will also need to find clients, negotiate your fee, and manage your finances according to different tax rules, which are things you didn’t need to do as a full-time nine-to-fiver.

About Author

Jeff Tennery

Jeff Tennery is the founder & CEO of Moonlighting and has spent over 25 years in senior executive leadership roles at Verizon, AT&T Wireless, nTelos, and Millennial Media. Jeff has spent the past year “moonlighting,” helping friends and co-founders on nights and weekends build the first on-demand mobile marketplace. Prior to founding Moonlighting, Jeff served 7 years as the Senior Vice President, Business Development & Global Monetization for mobile advertising leader Millennial Media. He was responsible for delivering hundreds of millions of dollars annually across 50,000 applications worldwide and played an instrumental role in Millennial Media’s 2012 IPO.
Over the past decade, Jeff has achieved great success in the mobile application economy, serving advisory roles to venture capital firms (Edison Ventures, Sycamore), as well as start-up companies in the mobile imaging (dotPhoto), mCommerce (Cardagin), mobile payments (First Data), mobile gaming (Sonic Branding, AirMedia), and mobile entertainment & media business (ESPN, Floop, Code9).